Seagate rejected takeover bid from WD

Posted on Friday, December 03 2010 @ 12:11 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Seagate turned down a takeover proposal from Western Digital, according to a report by Bloomberg. A merger would face antitrust obstacles and would likely have resulted in many management departures due to the large overlap between the company's products.
A combination with Western Digital would have faced antitrust obstacles and may have resulted in management departures, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks were private. Western Digital indicated to Seagate it was willing to pay 10 percent to 50 percent more than TPG, one person said. TPG had considered offering more than $7.5 billion, people familiar with the discussions said in October.

The proposal was a bad idea, said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw LLC in New York. “I’m not sure how that would serve Seagate’s shareholders,” he said. “There’s way too much product overlap, and I’m not sure the premium would be meaningful enough to make it worth it. I think they have to make a go of it on their own.”


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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